Meatshop Grand Opening.....Part 1.....The Preparations

finally, our meatshop had its Grand Opening and Blessing last friday, september 28, 2006.....which actually coincided with the anniversary of San Miguel Corporation as well as the start of SMC's Oktoberfest celebrations. but in spite of these, our celebrations were still very exciting and very meaningful.

some pictures of the grand opening and blessing have been posted in jon's blog. here, i post some other pics for you to enjoy!

Happy 2007!!!

Happy 2007!!!

we've just arrived home after celebrating the start of the new year with family in Quezon City. as with the start of 2006, we started 2007 with lots of wonderful, colorful, and awesome fireworks courtesy of jon!!! yipeeeeeeeee!!!

jon and i arrived in Quezon City quite early, about 6:00 PM, to avoid the exploding firecrackers on the road. after dinner with Daddy & Mommy, we waited for Kuya, Gwen, & Gail to come home from church. after they've had their dinner, i prepared tea for everybody using our portable tea tray and one of our tea sets..... i brought 9 types of tea with us but we were able to drink two types only.... because by the time we were finished with the second one, we were so soothed and relaxed, we were all sleepy!!! hehehehehe.... who would want to sleep through the New Year???..... and by that time too, it was 30 minutes to midnight..... we alll went out the street and started with our fireworks!!!

after celebrating the first few minutes of 2007 with fireworks in the streets outside the house, we all trooped to Daddy and Mommy's cottage and had the customary and sumptuous "Media Noche"meal..... this is similar to the Christmas Eve "Noche Buena" meal except that this is held at midnight.... between Dec 31st and Jan 1st.... hence, the term "media" which is Spanish for "half".

during this time, aside from celebrating the start of the new year, we reflect on the past year and our thoughts go out to relatives who are not with us.... wishing year after year that the family will be complete in celebrating events like this in the future!!!.... and extending all our LOVE to all of them!!!

The package has arrived....in time for the last family chat of the year!!!

yipeeeeeeee!!! our gift to Mabelle has arrived.... and has been delivered. since we asked Boyce, a friend living in Pennsylvania, to order it for us we've been anxiously waiting for Mabelle to get it. sigh! how i wish we were there to see Mabelle's face when she finally saw it!

mabelle, this gift is to make up for all those Christmases and birthdays that i wasn't able to give you any gift.... and for all those birthdays and Christmases to come!!! hehehehehehe.

the gift arrived just in time for the last family chat of 2006.... and in celebration of and to commemorate this event, here are some of the sights and words of that chat:

the cousins, Gino and Julius

the newly-slimmed down Ate Nette

Diko and Julius

Gino


Lynn and Julius

Julius (sleeping!)

Lynn and Mabelle

The chat screen

it was truly a "family chat" because Gail & Kuya and Daddy & Mommy joined us from Quezon City. it's a pity, though, that Gail's web cam was not working.... and so, we didn't have web cam views of them.at about 1:00 pm. jon joined us.... and by the time we finished the chat at 4:00 pm.... here's Jon: (Hehehehehehe.)

one of the highlights for me this year is the start of our family chat because this has made our family feel closer to each other even if we're separated thousands of miles apart. for 2007, my fervent hope and wish is for this to continue.... because we'll never tire of seeing you and talking to you guys!!!

Noel....A Dear Classmate and Friend

in my previous post, i mentioned noel as a dear classmate and friend. i did say so because he is so!!!

i've known noel since 1974 when we were sophomore pre-vet students at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. since then, we've kept constant communication with each other - here in the Philippines.... which was not so hard because we were both hired by UP as faculty members.... and even abroad.... because he now works and resides in the U.S.A.

as students, during the last 2 or 3 years of college life, we had the same barkada or set of friends. as young faculty members, we saw each other almost every school day. and as a friend residing in the US, i visited with him when i was last in New York. he treated me to a showing of the musical Miss Saigon in Broadway.... after which, we hit the bars of New York City on that cold, snowy winter night... even missing our train back to where he then lived.... in the suburbs. in return, whenever noel is back here in Manila, we'd meet here, go out or just stay in and update each other on what's the latest. with the advent of internet chatting, we chat almost every week.

noel is back here in Manila to stand as one of the major sponsors in the wedding of the daughter of another classmate who lives in California. he's also here for a well-deserved vacation. it is always exciting whenever a friend from abroad comes home and visits. actually, noel is one of my dear friends (and also classmates and former faculty member colleagues at UP) who've opted to live and work abroad. the others are Boyce, who stays in Pennsylvania; Ken, who's from Chicago; and Ramon, who lives and works in Boston. (Noel, in turn, lives in Manhattan and works at the Medical School of Cornell University.)

i miss the good old times with you guys.....

by the way, noel, thank you for your pasalubongs, particularly the two boxes of Nicotine Transdermal System which will greatly help me in kicking my smoking and nicotine habit.... for good!!!

Two Special Occasions.....In One Day

December 25 is not only Christmas day..... it is also the wedding anniversary of Daddy and Mommy. this year, for their 54th Anniversary, we gifted them with a lighted replica of a church in an old English town complete with a wedding entourage and pine tree surroundings. when mommy was in the U.S., she used to collect these things. when they came back home to Manila, she was able to bring some items in her collection. this new one is a welcome addition to her collection.

HAPPY, HAPPY WEDDING ANNIVERSARY DADDY AND MOMMY!!!

Love Notes I've Received.....Part 20

Love Notes I've Received.....Part 19

Me...then...

since blogspot was acting up and i can't post pics in my entries, last night i spent most of my time editing photos to post. then, i realized that i've made composite photos for everyone in the family except for myself!!! that's when i decided to make the composite shown here.

it's quite unbelievable that 50 years have passed since some of these pics were taken or printed.... as in the case of the news release of my birth! it's a pity, though, that the complete details of the news realease....i.e., the newspaper banner where it was published, the date, etc.... were not saved.

nonetheless, i am very grateful and i feel so very blessed....

Turning the Big Five-Oh....the Bash Continues....

today is my BIG DAY.... today, i turn 50.... and i'm proud of it!!!

fittingly enough, my day started with a certification of relatively good health from my cardiologist, Dr. Raul Lapitan of Makati Med. actually, we almost didn't get to see him because his clinic at Makati Med is only at 8:00 am to 12:00 noon from monday to friday. we arrived at his office at 11:50 am... and i have yet to get the results of the chest x-ray and MRI/MRA which were done last monday! it's a good thing that there weren't any other waiting patients anymore.... he agreed to see me. we then rushed to the Radiology Department and got the results.

upon return to his office, Dr. lapitan looked at all my test results including the blood tests, thyroid function tests and the urinalysis. i got a bit of a scare because all the while i thought my T4 level was 3.05 (quite high!).... the faxed result wasn't too clear. after calling the laboratory that did the examination, we were informed that it was 1.05!!! yipeeeeeeee!!! all my thyroid function tests results are normal!!!

the MRI results (imaging of my head) as well as the MRA results (imaging of the blood vessels of my head) are all normal.... no aneurysms, no constrictions, no visible abnormalities.... Dr. Lapitan even complemented me on how nice and balanced the two sides of my head and brain are!!! another yipeeeeeeeeee!!!

all these now leaves the results of my cholesterol and triglyceride levels as probably the causes of my hypertension. although the levels are still considered mildly high and fairly recent, Dr. Lapitan prescribed an anti-hypercholesterolemia and anti-dyslipidemia drug that i have to take daily for the next three months. hopefully, with this drug plus the diet and lifestyle modifications, this condition will be remedied!!! oh, by the way, the doctor also commented that with only one week of taking just one type of anti-hypertension drug, my hypertensive condition is now slightly lower and fairly stable!!! yipeeeeeee!!!

to continue with the celebration... of my birthday, as well as the results of the medical check up.... we proceeded to our favorite Japanese restaurant.... Isshin on Pasay Road.... for lunch. in the true culinary tradition of this blog...here are what we had:

after lunch, we proceeded to the computer store where we got my new lap top and our wireless broadband gadgets. you see, last night i received from Kuya, Gwen, Gail, and Ate Liz a birthday card full of good wishes and cheers.... and bills!!! hehehehehe.... with them, plus an additional few bills from my own, i got an 80 GB portable hi-Speed USB 2.0 hard drive for my lap top!!! yipeeeeeeeee!!! now, even if the lap top crashes, i'll never lose any of my documents, photos, etc!!! thank you very much Kuya, Ate Liz, Gwen, and Gail.... wabyu all much!!!


before going home, we passed by Mercury Drug store to buy my meds.... omg! the total for the new drug was close to 7K!!! indeed, the saying that "sa panahon ngayon, bawal magkasakit!!!" ("nowadays, getting sick is prohibited!!!") is very true!!! nevertheless, i'm sure this new drug, plus the others i'm taking, will bring me back to best of health.... yipeeeeeeee!!!


we were home by 5:00 pm and for dinner, we decided just to order in from Kenny Rogers Roasters. we got the spicy chicken solo C menu.... and it was REALLY, REALLY SPICY HOT!!!! nonetheless, it was delicious!!! yipeeeeeeeeee!!!

(Note: Some may notice that the lunch and dinner i had were not really in accordance with the diet i should be following.... believe me, i realize that too.... but never mind.... it's MY BIG DAY after all!!! hehehehehe.... yipeeeeeeeeeee!!!)